Psych Evaluation
by firerwolf
Summary: Psychological evaluation of Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan 117 by Doctor Laura Travela.


**UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND  
PRIORITY TRANSMISSION  
07848K-49  
ENCRYPTION CODE: **CYAN**  
PUBLIC KEY: **FILE/EXCISED ACCESS OMEGA/**  
FROM: **DOCTOR LAURA TRAVELA, PSHYCOLOGICAL ADVISOR TO THE OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLEGENCE, LUNA MEDICAL FACILITY**  
TO: **REAR ADMIRAL ARTHUR WILLIAMS, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, UNSC MEDICAL STATION SERINITY. **  
SUBJECT: **PSHYCOLOGICAL EVALUTATION OF SPARTAN-II7**  
CLASSIFICATION: **RESTRICTED (BGX DIRECTIVE)

I received the full set of files and your request for my input. I don't know why you came to me; you know I'm not going to parrot back to you what you want to hear. If you're hoping I'll confirm your suggestion that Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is "broken" or "troubled" I can tell you right now that I cannot agree with such an assertion. I know what Doctor Marnon's report said, but I've turned a deaf ear to ONI's mouth-piece and you know it. You know me well enough to not bother clumping in that sort of garbage to try to sway my opinion. But you asked me for my thoughts, so I shall give them.

Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 has, without a doubt, an impressive military career. But I believe the analyses of my colleagues have been missing one major factor: _the subject is a Spartan_. Every examination I've read so far has compared the Master Chief's profile with the profiles of standard UNSC soldiers - but a Spartan simply can't be compared to that standard. Instead it must be taken in reference to the psych profiles of the remaining living Spartan-IIs, which I have taken the liberty of procuring to insure a thorough analysis. After comparing the Master Chief's behavior to that of other individuals in his peer group, I have come to the conclusion that - for a Spartan - the Master Chief is healthy. The Spartan-II team consisting of Frederic-104, Kelly-087, and Linda-058 (designated "Blue Team") has been consistently deployed to active combat positions for the past five years, and their behavior is identical to that of John-117. And as there has been no question of the stability of mental states of the other Spartan-IIs, I can see no reason to assume differently in regards to Master Chief Petty Officer 117.

Though I suppose I must address the incident that took place on the bridge of _Infinity _\- the one most extensively outlined in the files you sent me. There are two possibilities here as to what was going on under the surface, but from what I can gather from your message it seems that you're unlikely to believe in the same one as me. As a colleague and friend, I advise you to not put so much stock into one idea before examining all the facts. For starters it should be acknowledged that the Master Chief went above and beyond the call of duty towards the end of the war and afterwards, and that the events he experienced would be considered highly stressful even when accounting for level of training afforded a Spartan-class soldier. It is also noticeable that there were no other reported incidents of insubordination in the file that you gave me. So I feel I must point out that one event does not equal a pattern.

The first of the possible reason for such an action can be the attributed to the direct losses suffered by John-117 during the last several weeks of his tour during the Human-Covenant War. This idea boils down to one point: that even a Spartan can only take so much defeat. According to some records I've looked into, 95% of the Spartan-II personnel that remained in 2552 went KIA or MIA just prior to the Battle of Earth. This left the Master Chief without a reliable team to lead into combat - which, judging from his service history, would be an experience somewhat outside his comfort zone. And after experiencing the deaths of his known associates Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson on the Forerunner Installation known as "the Ark", in addition to working under the reasonable assumption that all of the other Spartans were possibly KIA in 2557, lead to a situation where when faced with giving up the AI CTN 0452-9 (designated "Cortana") he refused. Doctor Karban was the first one to at least put this theory forward, reasoning that the Master Chief was not willing to sacrifice the last teammate he'd acquired in absence of the other Spartan-IIs. In that moment he defied direct orders to keep the remaining personnel (albeit an artificial one) under his command safe. The obvious concern that goes along with this is the possibility that the Master Chief might react drastically to similar orders in the future. I believe such a fear is unfounded however, as the files you sent me clearly state that he has been returned to work with Blue Team. I also have to point out that such a concern is based in faulty logic to begin with; the Master Chief has lost multiple long-standing teammates during his career while maintaining optimum mental stability, so the idea that the deaths of those associated with Spartan-117 for only a few weeks would result in a progressive psychological breakdown is quite ridiculous. Though you've always been a fan of the dramatic.

The reason for these actions that I stand by, and that I'm sure you'll dismiss, is that he was simply acting in accordance with his Spartan training. Captain Del Rio dismissed the Master Chief's assessment of immediacy of the threat of a hostile Forerunner (known as "the Didact"), though the danger was proven to be true later with the attack on New Phoenix. It is very likely that the Master Chief fully understood the gravity of the situation and, as the Spartans have been indoctrinated to do, did what was needed to protect humanity. No one can really argue that his defiance of orders was not the right choice, as his actions resulted in the neutralization of this enemy before any more lives were lost. I read the transcript of the verbal altercation that occurred on the bridge of the _Infinity_, and I have to disagree with your assertion that the Master Chief's refusal to follow the Captain's orders had a great deal do with the AI. It was rather clear from John-117's words that he was responding largely to Del Rio leaving the Didact without taking care of the threat. Your confusing desire to make the focus of this incident about an AI, which the keeping of appeared more to be an act of desperation, is unfounded and only muddles the facts and the analysis of the subject.

Once again, I know this isn't the answer you wanted; but you asked me for my honest opinion. I request only that you don't completely toss aside my assessment and at least give it a chance. I know that you and I don't often see eye-to-eye, but even when your opinion has been the polar opposite of mine I have always respected it. I would think that our years of friendship would lead you to do the same. I also understand that you have a job to do, so if you hit the delete button as soon as you read this I can understand that as well. I hope only that you honestly consider my reasoning before erasing it from your computer, and I'm sure mine, and moving on to reading more of the mindless reports that I'm sure ONI's puppets have sent you.

P.S. Steven was upset that you didn't come over for dinner the last time you were on Luna, and demands that you don't make the same mistake next time. We'll keep a place at the table set.


End file.
